Tuesday, August 6, 2013

From Poolesville, MD to Washington, D.C. : 40 miles...say wha?!

Wow, our last morning and to commemorate it, I took photos of our morning cue sheet talk. We all huddle AFTER we load the truck and BEFORE breakfast (except the team that sets up b fast gets to eat) and go over some key directions and things to look out for.




This morning, we decided to all go to McDonald’s to save Team 1 the hassle of breakfast set up and collapse. The weather again was perfect, not too hot and not too cold. However, it started to drizzle at our first checkpoint and nobody had raincoats. I think the excitement of reaching DC clouded our impairment but need not fair, we became equipped with trash bags thanks to Lynn! After gearing up and grabbing some Starbucks, we headed out for our final 20 miles, which were mostly on a multi-use trail into DC. Last year, a cyclist fell on this portion and broke his femur so “it’s not over until you actually cross the finish line,” became a phrase engraved into our ears. Navigating into the city was tough yet fun and we found our way to the Lincoln Memorial and National Monument in order to take some celebratory pictures.

We headed into the Old Postal Building to be treated to lunch by a 1998 Big Ride Alumni who has his own Greek Place open to the public. Yummy chicken gyros, shrimp, and spanikopita although my appetite was diminished (for once) by the tremendous amount of nerves.



In just 30 minutes, I would be crossing the finish line….the FINISH of this amazing journey. I would be seeing my mom, Joe, Brett, Sean, and some DC folk (turned out to be Mike and Nick), seeing the first bit of familiarity in 7 weeks. We all huddled our bikes on the corner and waited to be sent off by Jim, a guest rider and friend of John’s. This year, we would be going in by ourselves, as opposed to the traditional entry of 2 riders at a time. Since there were only 14 of us, this made more sense but made me more nervous because now everyone would be staring at me. I was petrified I would do what I usually do---stop and forget to unclip and just sort of tilt over and smack the pavement. I rode in and was topped by a traffic light, as was every other rider (pretty funny), so I just waited as I searched the crowd for my support team and then rode in once it turned green to be greeted by cheers, signs, hugs, and my finish medal. I had it together until my mom gave me a binder she had made of my blog, all posts and photos printed, along with her own blog that she had been making, of which I was unaware. Then I started crying but I knew it would happen eventually. It’s funny how this whole trip I bonded with the ladies and then my entire support in DC (sparing my mom) was, of course, my guy friends. I loved it though and it was SOOO good to see everyone.





Charlton was right when he said after you cross the finish line, “poof,” it’s over and everyone disappears. Everyone was very involved with family and friends, as was I, and it didn’t really occur to me that this would be the last time we were with each other as a group until we were all gone. We hiked to the van to pick up our belongings and my mom and Joe took most of my stuff to their RV camp while Brett and I checked into the hotel for a much needed 2 hour nap (after I had fro yo and he got chipotle). Later that evening, we went to Duke’m for Ethiopian with Sean, Mike, and Dips. I ran into Remy who also happened to be going there, which was extra ironic because we were going to her house later that evening. The night was spent with my Pomona family (about 15 graduates) and every time we are together, no matter who I am with or where we are, it’s like nothing has changed. Many games were played and Ezra, bless his soul, made the most delicious beef jerky I have ever tasted. I am SO blessed to have this Pomona community and I would not trade it for a million bucks. I saw the country by bike, a new place every day, and while all of this was so amazing, enough cannot be said about people making places special.
 Waiting to cross

Crossing the finish line!

 Getting the medal!



Love them all!





Sean left for NYC on a 3am train and I hope his ride went better than my metro ride back to my mom at 11am (I got lost and then I got sick). My mom, Joe, the dogs, and I all headed to Hershey, PA. We did an abbreviated tour of Chocolate World, grabbed food, searched high and low to find beer on Sunday in the dry state of Pennsylvania until we finally bought some to-go from a bar. We got ready, blared JT, and headed to the concert by a yellow cheese bus that the campsite provided. The concert was AMAZING. I am not a huge rap fan but I can say that the collaboration between Jay-Z and JT was done in such a stellar way. They did so many songs together including, JT singing the chick part “I’m a hustler babbby” in Jay z’s song. They also did some MJ and ended with Forever Young. Sexy back was one of my favorites due to the heavy rock and guitar solos and the ability of JT to hype the crowd. Push-er love girl was also a treat and JT’s vocals cannot be topped. The cheese bus on the way home turned into a dance party as our driver pumped the jams, flickered the lights in a strobe light fashion, and the campers danced up and down the aisles. It was so much fun and I am glad I got to share this with my mom. It was indeed the perfect ending for my trip and my high expectations were even exceeded.
Pomona in DC!

On the tram to the park


 Ride in Chocolate World---Singing Dairy Cows

Chocolate!!


 Sound Check

 Cheese bus to the concert


I can’t believe I can say I RODE ACROSS COUNTRY, every mile, every inch. Aside from my sore shoulder, the training I did paid off to prepare me for long rides and help prevent me from getting injuries early on. I avoided the SAG wagon and can honestly say there wasn’t a time when I really thought I would need it (no sharp bad pains…just discomfort). It was always a mental challenge and at times, physical. I am so thankful for my safety and for the crew for reminding us constantly of best rider practices. This is been such a memorable experience and I cannot wait to reflect on it later on.

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